Blinken defends not placing more sanctions on Russia ahead of possible Ukraine invasion

Mychael Schnell
The Hill
Sun, 20 Feb 2022 10:15 UTC

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US Sec. of State Antony Blinken

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday defended the Biden's administration's decision not to place more sanctions on Russia ahead of a possible incursion by Moscow against Ukraine. During an appearance on CNN's State of the Union, he stated:

"The purpose of the sanctions in the first instance is to try to deter Russia from going to war. As soon as you trigger them, that deterrent is gone. And until the last minute, as long as we can try to bring a deterrent effect to this, we're going to try to do that."

Blinken's defense came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday called for preemptive sanctions to be placed on Russia in anticipation of a potential invasion.

The Biden administration announced last month that it imposed sanctions on four current and former Ukrainian government officials who were believed to be working to help carry out Russian influence operations in Ukraine. Some, however, are calling on the U.S. to place more penalties on Moscow now.

Pressed by Bash on why the U.S. is holding off on more sanctions even after President Biden on Friday said he was "convinced" Russian President Vladimir Putin has "made the decision" to invade Ukraine, Blinken on Sunday emphasized that the U.S. will keep the diplomatic path open for as long as possible.

The secretary sounded a similar note during an appearance on NBC's Meet the Press, telling moderator Chuck Todd:

"We continue to try to build everything we can to deter him from the course that he's now set on. And until the last minute, there is still an option to - for him to pull back. That's what we're trying to do. We're trying to prevent a war. As soon as you trigger the sanctions, of course, any deterrent effect they may have is gone. They get absorbed by President Putin and he moves on."

Comment: There is no 'truth' that supports false accusations - only narratives. Sanctions? Putin claims Russia is immune to sanctions!

No new sanctions can possibly deter Russia from doing what it wants, because Moscow has experience dealing with them for many years already, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, on Friday, the Russian leader claimed Moscow cannot possibly avoid Western sanctions, because they are not aimed at altering the Kremlin's behavior. In his view, they are actually a plan to hinder the economic development of Russia.

"Sanctions will be imposed in any case. Whether they have a reason today, for example, in connection with the events in Ukraine, or there is no reason, it will be found. The goal is different. In this case, the goal is to slow down the development of Russia and Belarus."

The Russian president also stated that Moscow believes these sanctions to be illegitimate, calling them an unfair competition tool of the US and its allies. Also accusing the US of a selective approach to international norms, he said:

"This is a gross violation of international law," he said, also accusing the US of a selective approach to international norms. They care about it only when it is advantageous to them. They always interpret everything only in their own favor and neglect the interests of other [countries]."

The only way for Moscow and Minsk to mitigate the effect of sanctions is to develop economic cooperation and import substitution.